bulletin (The European Association for for Association (The European Banking and Financial History e.V.) Banking and Financial History eabh Architecture & Finance & Finance Architecture

2019/20 Image: Bank of Canada and Museum entrance. 29 Sept 2017. Photo: doublespace 29 Sept 2017. Photo: Bank of Canada and Museum entrance. Image: INDONESIA

Dutch functionalism in the tropics: The factory of the Netherlands Trading Society

Jaap-Jan Mobron

oday’s ABN AMRO Bank is mainly a Dutch business. A dozen years ago T the bank could still boast a world- wide network, with roots sometimes dat- ing back nearly two centuries. Especially in Indonesia, formerly known as the Dutch East Indies, the bank’s architectural heritage can be found all over the archipelago. Prominent among these is its former Asian head office in Jakarta, which stands proud to this day. It is a monument to Dutch functionalism in the tropics. One of the oldest and most prestig- ious predecessors of ABN AMRO is Nether- lands Trading Society (Nederlandsche Han- del-Maatschappij) or NTS. The company was founded on 29 March 1824 on the initi- The spacious and airy banking hall on the ground floor in 1933, shortly after opening ative of the Dutch monarch, Willem I. It was (copyright: ABN AMRO Art & Heritage) set up as a general import and export com- pany with the principal purpose of stimu- lating the nation’s economy, particularly As the Dutch government’s economic Following the German occupation of through trade with the Dutch East Indies. policies changed in the late 1800s, so too the Netherlands in May 1940, the NTS moved Although it was not officially a successor to had the NTS. It concentrated increasingly its head office to Batavia. Two years later, the Dutch East Indies Company or VOC, the on banking and opening new branches when the Japanese occupied the Dutch East NTS certainly continued many of the activ- throughout Asia, far beyond the East Indies. Indies, the company officially moved to Par- ities of its famous predecessor. From 1830 Yet, the bank still remained under the direc- amaribo, the capital of Suriname and Hol- to 1870 the NTS served as banker, commis- tion of the Factory. Since East Asia was prac- land’s second major colony. All the NTS’s sioner and carrier to the Dutch state. It was tically the NTS’s only area of business until East Indies offices were closed for the dura- responsible for storing, selling and shipping well into the twentieth century, the Fac- tion of the war and the company’s business colonial products such as coffee, tea, sugar tory, as the company’s Asian headquarters, came to a virtual standstill. The following and spices that were collected in kind as a was involved in almost all its transactions period of decolonisation increased the diffi- form of taxation by the state. Because of the and operations. It was only with the rise of culty of Dutch company operations in Indo- enormous distance that separated the East the NTS’s banking business in the Nether- nesia, eventually making them impossible. Indies and the Netherlands, the NTS set up lands in the course of the twentieth cen- Then in May 1959, the NTS’s Indonesian culti- a complete administrative hierarchy to run tury that this emphasis began to shift, while vation company was nationalised, followed the colonial operation. This was based in Asian business continued to remain impor- in December 1960 by the nationalisation of Batavia (now: Jakarta) at what was known tant for many years. This also applies to the the Factory and all the agencies under its as the Factory (Factorij), following its estab- so-called plantation business of the Factory control. Not long after this, the NTS merged lishment on 27 February 1826. The name which consisted of a large clientele of plan- with Dutch rival Twentsche Bank to form Factorij – in imitation of the trading posts of tation owners as well as sugar-, tea-, and Algemene Bank Nederland or ABN, which, in the VOC which were called factories – was coffee-plantations owned by the Factory 1991, merged to become ABN AMRO Bank. given to both the institution and organisa- itself, mainly as a result of bankruptcies that Meanwhile, the NTS’s Indonesian banking tion itself as well as the actual building in occurred frequently in times of agricultural business was taken over by an Indonesian which it was housed. crisis in the Dutch East Indies. state-owned bank which, after changing its

bulletin | 2019/20 73 INDONESIA

The Factorij in 2004, transformed into Museum Bank Mandiri (copyright Bank Mandiri)

name several times, merged in 1999 with Besar Utara, which is located behind Kali three other banks – two of which were also Besar South. It lies opposite the city’s cen- former nationalized predecessors of ABN tral train station near the offices of other AMRO Bank – to become today’s Bank Man- colonial banks as well as directly beside the diri, Indonesia’s largest bank. head office of Javasche Bank or the central bank of the Dutch East Indies (now known as Old design for a new building Bank Indonesia). The Factory invited three The building in which the Factory ended leading East Indies architectural agencies its days in 1960 is not where the company to submit designs for the new building in a started operating in 1826. For over a century limited competitive tender. Although the it operated from the neighbouring Kali Besar, architects were free to make their own sug- Batavia’s old commercial centre. It occupied gestions regarding style, the building had several addresses there before settling in to convey what was termed ‘a respectable, Kali Besar East number 26, Jl. Teh and south monumental air for the bank building as a of Jl. Kunir, later renamed Factorijstraat. whole, and especially for its public areas’1. Like many other commercial buildings along At the same time, the list of requirements this canal at the time, the NTS building con- included an efficient and simple interior lay- sisted of a wooden top floor, projecting over out, ample provision of light and fresh air the pavement, and standing on slender iron and every possible modern comfort. In addi- posts. Over the years adjacent buildings tion, it was emphasised that the building were bought, demolished and rebuilt, which should be designed to accommodate future Architect Cees van de Linde ca. 1930 was necessary for expansion but also a nec- growth, so that the Factory staff should be (copyright: ABN AMRO Art & Heritage) essary means of minimising fire hazard and allocated fifty per cent more space than the threat of white ants. By the early 1900s it at the old building. This was hardly a sur- was clear that drastic renovation of the old prise given the chronic lack of space at the building or a completely new building was old Factory building. Each of the three sub- needed. Continuing decay, which is typical missions was designed in a historical revival to the tropics, as well as a growing need for style that referred back to the West Euro- space due to the Factory’s increased focus pean architecture of the preceding centuries, on banking, created a demand for facilities particularly the Baroque and Classical peri- offering presentable cash counters and fire- ods. This was a popular genre in the com- proof safe deposits. mercial world of the East Indies and in fact In 1921, a strategic location became 1 National Archives of the Netherlands (The Hague), Archives of available on Stationsplein, today’s Pintu Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij (Netherlands Trading Society), inv. nr. 2956 (letter 22-03-1922).

74 bulletin | 2019/20 INDONESIA

View of the court yard from the ground floor (copyright: ABN AMRO Art & Heritage) Galleries ensured both natural ventilation and protection from the sun (copyright: ABN AMRO Art & Heritage)

dominated its architecture well into the 20th It was decided to directly commission Kees However, top priority was given to adap- century. These were modern constructions van de Linde (1886-1941), an architect who tations for the local climate. With an aver- built with reinforced concrete and the lat- had already made an excellent impression age temperature of around 30 degrees cen- est technical innovations hidden behind his- on management in the Netherlands. Van de tigrade and an average humidity of over 83 torical façades of columns or pilasters, hous- Linde had worked for several years as office per cent, Batavia was not the most pleas- ing prominent roofs with domes or towers manager under the famous Dutch architect ant environment in which to work in the age and plenty of sculptural decoration. Several Karel de Bazel (1869-1923), who designed before air-conditioning, especially for Euro- NTS-buildings were designed in this style, the NTS’s new head office building, when the pean employees. After some local research, such as their offices in Bandung and Welte- latter suddenly died in 1923. After De Bazel’s the so-called open system – with deep, open vreden (today’s Menteng district of Jakarta). death, Van de Linde played a key role in the galleries surrounding the building and floors However, the construction then underway of completion of the building in 1926. As Van de of around six metres in height that had been the new NTS head office building in Amster- Linde had no experience in construction in used at Javasche Bank – emerged as the pre- dam was already straining the company’s the Dutch East Indies, he was assisted by Mau- ferred solution. A continuous double façade resources. As a result, the construction plans rits Tideman (1888-1969), who had worked with galleries would ensure both natural were shelved. for Batavia’s department of public works. ventilation and protection from the sun. At The wide-ranging list of requirements the same time, it was decided to orient the New design for a new building for the Factory was based on those of 1921. building on an east-west axis so that the Six years later, in the spring of 1928, circum- In addition, as in 1921, the design had to tropical midday sun could be avoided. The stances had sufficiently changed for the NTS cater for a potential fifty per cent expansion ventilation system used at the NTS’s head Amsterdam head office to give the go-ahead of the current staff level of 186 employees, office in Amsterdam was adapted to Bata- for a new Factory building. This time there as well as a hermetic separation of public via: double floors with a gap between a sup- was no question of a competitive tender. areas and those reserved for personnel only. porting under floor and an actual surface

bulletin | 2019/20 75 INDONESIA

and by a strictly functional use of materials and technology. Functionalism combined a strong aversion for ornamentation on a building with a penchant for the colour white and for right angles and straight lines in its designs, resulting in mostly flat roofs and façade, in glass, steel and reinforced con- crete. By choosing the latest architectural style, the Netherlands Trading Society, which naturally had the final say, was making a definite statement: it was dynamic, efficient and modern. The highly traditional building in the historical style that the Javasche Bank erected four years later shows how innova- tive the NTS’s choice was. The Amsterdam head office was a major inspiration for Van de Linde. It is in the inte- rior especially that the two buildings appear surprisingly alike: particularly the bare con- crete columns painted white; the profusion of colourful Venetian glass floor tiles with their meandering patterns; and the long, thin and vertical windows with their stained- glass designs in the central stairwell. The Netherlands Trading Society deliberately The gate in the main entrance allowed for extra ventilation throughout the banking hall. tried to create an architectural link between (copyright: ABN AMRO Art & History) the Factory and the head office in Amster- dam by adopting recognisable elements utilised in the conditions of the East Indies. floor, which comprised a system of ventila- its neighbours and competitors had con- This particular corporate style was also vis- tion shafts, as well as channels for various structed a few years earlier, the architec- ible in the NTS branch at Medan on Suma- cables and wires. In this way, as Van de Linde tural style that was chosen by the NTS stood tra, which was also designed Van de Linde commented, he hoped ‘to create a gentle, in marked contrast. Successive drawings around the same time. This resulted in a vir- not unpleasant atmosphere in harmony with showed Van de Linde gradually abandon- tual copy of the Factory. Though half the Fac- nature by using a system to allow air to pass ing the revival style of the earlier designs and tory’s size, this NTS branch was designed in in and out’2. radically transforming the building’s appear- the exact same style and with an identical The general layout and plan of the Fac- ance. An aesthetic decision was taken to interior design. tory building that was eventually realised replace the conventional pavilion roof with As was the case at the bank’s Amster- was in many respects based on one of the a flat surface once it was realised that there dam head office, the Factory’s furnishings designs submitted in 1921. It comprised a were no practical objections. This was a cru- were specially designed. The robust, angu- square ground plan around a rectangular cial moment in the design process, since a lar design of the remaining original desks, courtyard, allowing air to pass right through change in the shape of the roof resulted in a cupboards, chairs, stools, lamps and panel- the entire building with a continuous double fundamentally distinct and essentially more ling reveal De Bazel’s influence, who was the façade of open galleries and a huge public modern building with a completely differ- designer of the furniture in Amsterdam. hall as wide as the façade. ent character. All the ornaments, details and At the same time, the architect was also conventional elements of the earlier designs guided by the practical demands of his cli- Architectural style vanished one by one in Van de Linde’s sub- ent. In addition to requirements stemming There is hardly any reference to architectural sequent sketches. The line and shape of the from the nature of the company’s business, style in the list of conditions and require- design became increasingly clinical until it adaptations to the tropical climate had ments for the Factory’s new premises. consisted almost entirely of plain walls and a major impact on the style of the build- While evidently being very much aware of straight, square lines, based on the princi- ing’s design, not least its colour. The walls, the prestige attached to the buildings that ples of the Functionalism style, also known in painted with white mineral paint, reflected Dutch as Nieuwe Zakelijkheid or the Nieuwe the sun, while the dark socle gave protection 2 ‘Nederlandsche Handelmaatschappij N.V. Amsterdam. Bank- Bouwen. This style was particularly popu- against the grime of the street. The gallery gebouw ‘Factory’ Batavia’, in: Bouwkundig Weekblad Archi- tectura. Orgaan van de Maatschappij tot Bevordering der lar in the period 1920-1940 and was charac- columns were included to provide vertical Bouwkunst, Bond van Nederlandsche Architecten en het terized by a concern with light, air, hygiene features while the double floors with their Genootschap Architectura et Amicitia, nr. 41, 10-10-1931, p. 370.

76 bulletin | 2019/20 INDONESIA

concealed air ducts emphasised the hori- zontal effect. This resulted in an interplay of open, vertical façade sections and closed horizontal sections. The decision to power the ventilation system with engines located on the roof top was ‘gratefully’ accepted, as the architect remarked, as it provided an ‘architecturally functional accent to the building’s silhouette’.3

The Factory according to function More than four years after the start of the construction work, the architect could finally and formally hand the building over to the board of the Factory on 14 January 1933. Shortly thereafter, the old building on Kali Besar was demolished and the land sold off. Although it was far larger than the old Factory, the new building was soon filled to capacity. The division and layout of the building was strictly functional and based on the Factory’s various tasks. Each of the four storeys had its own principal function: in the basement safes including securities safes were kept. Further, a box safe as well as safe deposit facilities with two hundred boxes and so-called cutting rooms in which customers could deposit, take out or exam- ine their valuable possessions were availa- Ground floor plan April 1929 (copyright: ABN AMRO Art & Heritage) ble. Three metres above ground-level and accessed by a six-metre-wide entrance stair- way, the ground floor was dominated by the public hall and the cash counter. Many of the offices there were separated by walls that housed an administrative section with a typ- and his team. It is therefore fitting that Bank did not reach the ceiling, thus allowing the ing pool. These rooms were furnished with Mandiri assigned a new function to the Fac- air to circulate. On the first floor the Factory far less luxury. The entire south wing was tory building as its corporate museum. It is had its state rooms and board rooms, which devoted to plantation affairs. Finally, the top in fact the building itself which is the muse- could be accessed via a majestic flight of floor was reserved principally for the - stor um’s main asset. Completely renovated and stairs. The furnishings reinforced the impos- age of archives from the Factory’s various open to the public, the impressive building ing effect of the rooms. These included departments. can be admired to this day in its former glory. numerous stone and colourful Venetian It has been meticulously recreated by the glass tiles. The stairwell was lit by five ver- New use museum, down to the last details including tical, 9-metre tall stained-glass windows. As The Factory remained in use as a bank office the furniture. It is well worth a visit. in Amsterdam, the director’s offices formed for Bank Mandiri until 2004. As in so many a so-called enfilade: a series of rooms whose other cities throughout the world, the his- doors opened along a single axis allowing toric commercial centre of Jakarta was aban- easy communication between the direc- doned by the larger companies for the more Author Profile tors. Their offices were furnished with every spacious and easily accessible suburbs. The convenience, including a wardrobe, a bath- fact that the Factory could remain a working room with a shower and water basin (man- bank for almost three quarters of a century Jaap-Jan Mobron is a historian and art histo- diebak). In the corridor each room had without any major adaptations being nec- rian who has been affiliated with ABN AMRO signal lights to indicate whether it was occu- essary, is a tribute to its design. Today the Art & Heritage department since 1993. As well pied or to call for a member of staff. Besides Factory stands as an impressive example of as being responsible for the department’s these imposing rooms the first floor also banking architecture in the tropics, indeed academic, popular and online publications, 3 ‘Nederlandsche Handelmaatschappij N.V. Amsterdam. Bankge- as a highlight of pre-war colonial architec- his activities include arranging exhibitions bouw ‘Factory’ Batavia’, in: Bouwkundig Weekblad Architectura, ture and as a monument to the architect and tours on aspects of banking history. nr. 41, p. 370.

bulletin | 2019/20 77 INDONESIA

The bathroom with water bassin or mandi, adjoining one of the director’s offices (copyright Bank Mandiri. Photographer: Sri Sadono)

One of the three ventilation towers giving the building a distinguishing The passageway connecting one of the director’s offices with silhouette (copyright: ABN AMRO Art & Heritage) the exterior gallery (copyright: ABN AMRO Art & Heritage)

Literature & Sources Huib Akihary, Architectuur & stedebouw in Adolf Heuken SJ, Historical Sites of Jakarta Cor Passchier, Building in Indonesia 1600- Indonesië 1870/1970 (Zutphen 1998). (Jakarta 2007). 1960 (Amsterdam 2016). Radboud van Beekum, ‘Cornelis van de Kantoorgebouw Nederlandsche Handel A.P. Smits and C. van de Linde, ‘Kan- Linde. Bouwer voor de Nederlandsche Han- -Maatschappij, N.V. Factorij Batavia (s.l., s.a.). toorgebouw der Nederlandsche Han- del-Maatschappij (NHM)’, in: Bulletin KNOB, del-Maatschappij N.V. ‘Factory’ Batavia. J.J. Mobron, the History Team of Museum volume 106, 2007, nr. 6, 263-270. Architecten: A.P. Smits en C. van de Linde Bank Mandiri, The Factorij. Bank, Museum, B.N.A.’, in: Bouwkundig Weekblad Architec- Radboud van Beekum, Albert Gielen, Jan Monument (Jakarta 2011). tura, nr. 14, 1934. Vredenberg, ‘A.P. Smits, (1881-1957), H. Fels, Peter J.M. Nas, (ed.), The past in the present. (1882-1962), C. van de Linde, (1886-1941)’, in: C.L. Temminck Groll, The Dutch Overseas. Architecture in Indonesia (Rotterdam 2006). Bibliografieën en oeuvrelijsten van -Neder Architectural survey. Mutual heritage of four landse architecten en stedenbouwkundigen ‘Nederlandsche Handelmaatschappij N.V. Centuries in three Continents (Zwolle/Zeist (Rotterdam 2005). Amsterdam. Bankgebouw ‘Factorij’ Bata- 2002). via’, in: Bouwkundig Weekblad Architectura. J.R. van Diessen, Jakarta/Batavia. Het cen- M.E. de Vletter, R.P.G.A. Voskuil, J.R. van Dies- Orgaan van de Maatschappij tot Bevorder- trum van het Nederlandse koloniale rijk in sen, Batavia/Djakarta/Jakarta. Beeld van ing der Bouwkunst, Bond van Nederland- Azië en zijn cultuurhistorische nalatenschap een metamorfose (Purmerend 1997). sche Architecten en het Genootschap Archi- (De Bilt, 1989). tectura et Amicitia, nr. 41, 1931.

78 bulletin | 2019/20